Anyone with a PC (gamepad highly recommended), PS3, or Vita that appreciates modern games rooted in classic sensibilities should download this game as soon as possible and give it a try, even if it’s only to hear one of the best video game soundtracks of the past five years.

If you’ve never played a Total War game, Shogun 2 is one of the most-universally praised games in the long-running series, and Creative Assembly has done a yeoman’s job in making it approachable yet deep.

I think I’ve been spending too much time playing games that came out within the last 20 years, so in honor of the holiday season I’ve decided to go retro. Bandit Kings of Ancient China is a Koei game, made before they became the Dynasty Warriors company.

Almost five years after its release, and lurking in the shadows of its multi-platform successor, the game still has a thriving player community who are willing to help guide new players and assist them in tackling the vicious bosses.

Crysis 2 plays phenomenally well, especially in the first 6 hours, but it could have been so much more. For one, Crytek should have thrown a lot of the story out, or at least lightened up on the budget-intensive scripted sequences. Imagine if those extra resources had been put into AI programming for the human enemies, procedural levels (or at least randomized enemy placement), and made the game all about replayability.

Binary Domain is easy to write off, but its story makes a playthrough worthwhile and changes in standard cover-based combat combined with huge boss battles certainly keep it from being stale. It won’t make you question violent video games like Spec Ops: The Line, but Binary Domain isn’t the slouch that it appears to be. If you find it on sale, give it a shot.

It’s been quite a while since I played a Mario Bros title. The last time I got involved with the venerable Italians was in 2006 when I got New Super Mario Bros for my DS Lite. Having recently received a 3DS, it seemed almost blasphemous to not buy a SMB game for it, and since I’m fonder of 2D platformers, I chose New Super Mario Bros. 2 over Super Mario 3D Land.

As someone who initially gave up on the guitar after one five-minute lesson, I can now play a number of different riffs after a few weeks of play. I’m working towards mastery of a handful of songs. Most importantly, it’s helped me develop the confidence to push forward.

There’s replay value in trying to achieve a higher score, but beyond that there’s no reason to play the game again after the credits roll. A spin-off and a sequel were made after this game, so if you need more retro video game rapping you can get your fix there.

Now that it’s heavily discounted, I can definitely recommend Resistance 3 to anyone who is a fan of the series, especially those who may have been put off by the second game. Anyone who might just be discovering Resistance for the first time should look into the “Resistance Collection” to start the story at the beginning and give this finale the context is needs and deserves.

I can wholeheartedly recommend picking up Dead Space 2 if you were a fan of the original. While it may have a few key differences from the original, and exchanges some scares for shoot-outs, it’s still a great entry to the franchise.

Lone Survivor is a quick affair, lasting only a few hours. However, the engrossing story and multiple endings demand repeated playthroughs, which can feel drastically different from one another based on how you handle choices you are presented. This game turned out to be a total gem hidden in my backlog that I picked up as part of a “Humble Bundle”.